Haier NuCool for fermentation

[EvilGnome6]

I'm pretty sure all the electronics are mounted in the back.

 

[dontman]

Does anybody have any thoughts as to what (if anything) may be lurking in the frame of this thing along the sides? Certainly no coolant lines. Maybe electronics or something else though? I'm contemplating drilling into the side to install a Love controller. Maybe I'll put it into the door, but I'll need to run an electric line in and out of it, so the side would be easier to do that with... Any thoughts?

Maybe I'll mount the Love Controller on the top of the frame, but I still may want to drill a small hole to run the temperature probe...

I have to say that I never shopped for a fridge before based on how poorly it works.

You have the unit there so you can see but often you can use the hole of the current thermostat to gain access to the wiring, drill a hole through to install new wiring and to run the love controller thermocouple.

 

[EricCSU]

I have been searching for a small fermentation fridge and this might work. It appears that a 6gal BB should work with the measurements that are listed. Has anyone put a 6gal BB with airlock or blowoff tube? I would love to know...I might buy one of these in the next couple of days.

Eric

 

[Munsoned]

I have been searching for a small fermentation fridge and this might work. It appears that a 6gal BB should work with the measurements that are listed. Has anyone put a 6gal BB with airlock or blowoff tube? I would love to know...I might buy one of these in the next couple of days.

Eric

I put an empty 6 gallon BB in there last night. The door just barely won't close--thus, I'm going to need to do some trimming on the inside of the door panel. I didn't bother putting on an airlock, but there is room to spare vertically, so I'm not worried about it. I'll put one on tonight and report back, but I'm confident it will fit just fine. See some of the earlier posts in this thread from EG6.

 

[EricCSU]

I put an empty 6 gallon BB in there last night. The door just barely won't close--thus, I'm going to need to do some trimming on the inside of the door panel. I didn't bother putting on an airlock, but there is room to spare vertically, so I'm not worried about it. I'll put one on tonight and report back, but I'm confident it will fit just fine. See some of the earlier posts in this thread from EG6.

Thanks, I would appreciate confirmation and photos are always helpful! I read through the whole thread twice to make sure I didn't miss it. I think EG6 only had a 5gal glass carboy, so I wanted to make sure a 6gal BB would fit. What area of DC are you in? I lived in Fairfax for a couple of years. It was nice, but I couldn't wait to not be in traffic all day anymore.

Eric

 

[Munsoned]

Thanks, I would appreciate confirmation and photos are always helpful! I read through the whole thread twice to make sure I didn't miss it. I think EG6 only had a 5gal glass carboy, so I wanted to make sure a 6gal BB would fit. What area of DC are you in? I lived in Fairfax for a couple of years. It was nice, but I couldn't wait to not be in traffic all day anymore.

Eric

No prob. I'll see what I can do. Be warned, I only have my crappy iPhone camera, so any pic I take will be grainy.

Yes, you're right, it looks like he does have a glass one. My bad, I thought it was a BB for some reason... In any event, I doubt the dimensions are much different. But, like I said, I'll try to confirm for you later tonight or tomorrow.

I'm in Gaithersburg, MD, but I drive into and out of DC every day. Trust me, I know exactly how you felt about the traffic here. It really is awful.

 

[Munsoned]

Two follow up items:

1) My beer that I put in the fridge was at 36* F when I tested it tonight. This was at the coldest setting.

2) The airlock on the 6 gal BB fits, but it bends as it hits the ceiling of the fridge interior. This is with a carboy cap--a bung may be shorter, but I don't have one to try. Not major, but it bends. I hooked up a blow off tube, which does not hit the interior ceiling at all, which is what I typically use anyway. I'll post pics tomorrow.

 

[EvilGnome6]

2) The airlock on the 6 gal BB fits, but it bends as it hits the ceiling of the fridge interior. This is with a carboy cap--a bung may be shorter, but I don't have one to try. Not major, but it bends. I hooked up a blow off tube, which does not hit the interior ceiling at all, which is what I typically use anyway. I'll post pics tomorrow.

I suspect it would be an inch or two shorter using a bung. I'd really like to see if someone gets one of these to fit in a NuCool before I spring for a BB.

 

[Munsoned]

Pictures as promised. Again, these are grainy, and the unit is in a spot in my basement that makes it pretty hard to take decent pictures. Alas:

First one shows how much room is left over at the base (i.e., for a blowoff setup. I'd estimate that the leftover room in the back corner is big enough for at least a standard pint glass, or something of similar dimensions, maybe bigger).

Next, the airlock hitting the ceiling. If you really push the lock way down into the carboy cap, you might make it. I didn't have the time last night to play around with it though.

Finally, a blow off setup that does not hit the ceiling.

 

[RockfordWhite]

any idea if the "Beer and Wine" fermenters would fit in there? They are slightly wider than the ale pales, but i would like to know before i blow 75 bucks...

 

[Munsoned]

any idea if the "Beer and Wine" fermenters would fit in there? They are slightly wider than the ale pales, but i would like to know before i blow 75 bucks...

I think I might have a "Beer and Wine" bucket that came with my starter kit, but I'm not 100% sure if it's that or a Ale Pale. In any event, I'll check when I get home from work tonight.

 

[jpc]

I see a potential issue, albeit very small, in the upper-right-hand corner of this pic.

Does anyone know the wavelength of light put out by the LED and its propensity to cause mercaptan production? Since it stays on all the time, I'd hate to find out after a couple weeks that it did the dirty deed.

 

[bikefoolery]

I see a potential issue, albeit very small, in the upper-right-hand corner of this pic.

Does anyone know the wavelength of light put out by the LED and its propensity to cause mercaptan production? Since it stays on all the time, I'd hate to find out after a couple weeks that it did the dirty deed.

I think duct tape can solve that problem.

 

[lmg95]

UV light is somewhere under 400nm and typically most LEDs are a "single" wavelength and at 460nm... so it's probably safe

 

[carbon111]

Does anyone know the wavelength of light put out by the LED and its propensity to cause mercaptan production? Since it stays on all the time, I'd hate to find out after a couple weeks that it did the dirty deed.

Just put a wad of black epoxy putty over it.

 

[Munsoned]

I noticed that too. Yup, I'm planning to cover it up or remove it completely if I can. Shouldn't be a big deal to fix one way or another.

 

[LoganAz]

Greetings all! I just jumped on board here. What a great fourm!

After reading this thread, I went out and purchased one of these from my local Target. It's a nice little cooler and at 79 bucks a pretty good deal. I have been looking for an inexpensive solution to fermenting beers in the desert.

Anyway, I got this thing home and put one of my 6.5 gallon glass carboys in it with a 3-piece airlock fitted with a stopper and it was pretty tight. I mean I could get it in but it was exactly the same height, so it was a bit of a wedge with the airlock shoved as far into the stopper as i could get it and pushed into the carboy.

It should not be a problem to take off about 1/4 inch off the airlock cup with a dremel and it would fit perfectly. Looks like there is plenty of room between the bobber and the airlock lid.

The cooler seems to work good, it's been holding at 41 degrees in my 80 degree kitchen. It is empty now but I'll put some stuff in it later and see how it goes.

Thanks for the tip on a cheap and what seems to be efficient fermenter!

 

[Munsoned]

Greetings all! I just jumped on board here. What a great fourm!

After reading this thread, I went out and purchased one of these from my local Target. It's a nice little cooler and at 79 bucks a pretty good deal. I have been looking for an inexpensive solution to fermenting beers in the desert.

Anyway, I got this thing home and put one of my 6.5 gallon glass carboys in it with a 3-piece airlock fitted with a stopper and it was pretty tight. I mean I could get it in but it was exactly the same height, so it was a bit of a wedge with the airlock shoved as far into the stopper as i could get it and pushed into the carboy.

It should not be a problem to take off about 1/4 inch off the airlock cup with a dremel and it would fit perfectly. Looks like there is plenty of room between the bobber and the airlock lid.

The cooler seems to work good, it's been holding at 41 degrees in my 80 degree kitchen. It is empty now but I'll put some stuff in it later and see how it goes.

Thanks for the tip on a cheap and what seems to be efficient fermenter!

Welcome! Glad this thing is working out for you. 40 degrees in an 80 degree kitchen seems pretty good. I'm actually pretty suprised the 6.5 gallon fermenter fit. That's good news.

I never thought about modifying the actual airlock--that's a pretty good idea.

As for the question on the "beer and wine" bucket from earlier in the day: I don't have one after all. Mine is a brew bucket--it looks pretty similar to the B&W, but I'm really not sure about the dimensions. Anyway, the brew bucket does not look like it will fit, or if it does, it is REALLY tight. It would take major door panel destruction just to have half a chance of fitting, and I'm not planning on going that far, so I can't really say if it is possible or not.

I had planned on installing the love controller and getting this thing set up this weekend, but it turns out I need to go out of town. Thus, some time next week I should have another write up on my Love Controller installation, etc...

 

[EvilGnome6]

Maybe this would be a good option for the 6.5 gallon carboys:

Silicone Stopper - Vented



I ran across it on the Northern Brewer site a few days ago. Works as a stopper as well as an airlock and it looks like it would barely add an inch to the height of a carboy.

 

[LoganAz]

I should clarify that I just put the 6.5 gal carboy in to test the height. I assume that with the nice door mod that Evilgnome6 did it would fit.

That Silicone Airlock looks pretty cool. It says it works for glass carboys. Do you think it will work with the Better Bottles?

I have never used Better Bottles (they were not out last time I brewed) but I plan to switch over to them. I never had a problem with glass and never even worried about one breaking, but in those days I didn't have a 3 year old assistant brewer.

 

[dontman]

Has anyone figured out how to use this thing without an external thermostat? If I have to spend another $50 or $60 to use it as a fermentation chamber it becomes more expensive than wine chillers.

 

[LoganAz]

It operates just like a regular refrigerator with a dial inside that has numbers from 1 to 5 (5 being the coldest).

I assume that on 5 its going to keep the inside temp ~35 degrees cooler than the ambient temp of the room it's in.

I had mine on this afternoon set at 5 and it maintained 40 to 42 degrees in a 79 to 80 degree room. I'm not sure how accurate that is because i am using a 14 year old "FermTemp" as the controller, so I'm giving it s couple degrees either way.

Tonight I loaded it up with a case and a half of Costco water and unhooked it from the controller and set it at 4. Ill just try to figure out what the range is between the numbers.

I hope this helps.

 

[dontman]

It operates just like a regular refrigerator with a dial inside that has numbers from 1 to 5 (5 being the coldest).

I assume that on 5 its going to keep the inside temp ~35 degrees cooler than the ambient temp of the room it's in.

I had mine on this afternoon set at 5 and it maintained 40 to 42 degrees in a 79 to 80 degree room. I'm not sure how accurate that is because i am using a 14 year old "FermTemp" as the controller, so I'm giving it s couple degrees either way.

This is kind of my point. (I think) For fermentation, regular fridge temps are useless. I ferment my lagers at 50 and my ales at from 62 to 76.

So I guess the question is, is there a setting on the fridge's dial which would allow you to hit 62 degrees, because if not then an external temp controller is necessary and they can get pricy.

But being realistic, I would not expect that high a setting and don't really even need it. My basement maintains a perfect 62-63 degrees in the Summer, so it is perfect for nice ales.

What I do wonder is if one of those 1-5 settings will maintain 50 degrees? Because if it does then I don't need an external controller and this thing actually does become a cheap fermentation controller.

Missed this part:

Tonight I loaded it up with a case and a half of Costco water and unhooked it from the controller and set it at 4. Ill just try to figure out what the range is between the numbers.

I hope this helps.

Yes that would be wonderfully helpful, especially the #1 setting, which would then give us the coldest and the wamest temps that this fridge could maintain.

 

[lamarguy]

This is kind of my point. (I think) For fermentation, regular fridge temps are useless. I ferment my lagers at 50 and my ales at from 62 to 76.

Correct, the "temperature" controls on any fridge are useless for controlling fermentation temperature. They control ambient air temperature, which is significantly different than wort temperature during fermentation.

So, yes, you will need an external temperature controller to accurately control the temperature of the fermenting beer.

 

[dontman]

They control ambient air temperature, which is significantly different than wort temperature during fermentation.

This point is not really relevent to the discussion since a Love controller measures the air too (unless you have the probe placed improperly.) The question is whether one of the native settings on the fridge will set the same temp as any controller I would connect.

 

[lamarguy]

This point is not really relevent to the discussion since a Love controller measures the air too (unless you have the probe placed improperly.) The question is whether one of the native settings on the fridge will set the same temp as any controller I would connect.

Disagree.

A Love controller is a mechanical relay that measures and controls temperature to within ±1F (depending on the probe location). The factory controller uses PWM to regulate power to the thermoelectric device and does not measure temperature.

So, the factory controller applies constant cooling power, regardless of the ambient temperature of the room or the thermal energy of the contents in the fridge.

 

[fartingdog]

Does anybody have any thoughts as to what (if anything) may be lurking in the frame of this thing along the sides? Certainly no coolant lines. Maybe electronics or something else though? I'm contemplating drilling into the side to install a Love controller. Maybe I'll put it into the door, but I'll need to run an electric line in and out of it, so the side would be easier to do that with... Any thoughts?

Maybe I'll mount the Love Controller on the top of the frame, but I still may want to drill a small hole to run the temperature probe...

It's a peltier cooling device, the walls would be insulation- I looked at a smaller version a while ago since I was planning to hijack the peltier from it. all the electronics are on the back.

 

[dontman]

My thermoelectric wine cooler maintains perfect fermentation temps using this same PWM. I set it for 47 to account for exothermic reaction and the wort maintains a perfect 50 until fermentation slows when I adjust the control to 50.

Similarly, my other ferment fridge maintains a steady 47 at 4.5 setting on the dial. This also maintains a perfect 50 degree ferment. I ease it up to 5 as ferment slows.

My walk-in fridge uses a love controller set to 36 with a 2 degree dead zone and I have the probe measuring the temp basically dangling from the ceiling inside. It is measuring the ambient air.

3 different methods of getting a steady temp. All equally effective. Point is, just because they are different doesn't mean they aren't qualified to do the job well. Funny thing is, the ferment fridge is being used for ferment because it sucks at being a fridge. The coldest I can get anything inside is 43. But it works perfectly as a ferment fridge.

Most fridges do not go this warm though and this is my only concern here, not the relative merits of mechanical relay versus PWM.

 

[lamarguy]

My thermoelectric wine cooler maintains perfect fermentation temps using this same PWM. I set it for 47 to account for exothermic reaction and the wort maintains a perfect 50 until fermentation slows when I adjust the control to 50.

Right, I'm not saying you can't manually monitor and adjust for fermentation temperature variances. That's certainly not "ideal", but it clearly works.

My point is - the NuCool fridge lacks a thermostat, thus, there is no reliable method for temperature adjustment. Your wine cooler has a temperature sensor, which provides a basis for relative adjustment.

For example, if you set an empty NuCool fridge to "3", the ambient temperature may be a steady 50F. Now, put a bucket of fermenting wort in the same fridge and the ambient temperature may rise to a steady 55F. This is because the cooling power stayed constant, regardless of the heat produced by the fermenting wort.

Without a temperature sensor (analog or digital), I just see this method as fundamentally flawed and subject to wide temperature swings.

 

[EvilGnome6]

I currently have my NuCool at the warmest setting and it has been holding between 45F-47F all day. My ambient temperature is about 80F. Not sure what people lager at but it's definitely too cold for ales without an external controller.